WEBVTT

00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.480
 You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:09.540
 Our passion is to experience and express grace.

00:00:10.080 --> 00:00:10.620
 Join us.

00:00:11.660 --> 00:00:14.740
 Turn with me this morning to Daniel chapter 3.

00:00:16.179 --> 00:00:22.100
 We're returning today to our study of Daniel after a week off, so let's remember where

00:00:22.100 --> 00:00:24.039
 we are, what we've seen so far.

00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:30.619
 We saw in this book that a stage was set for a clash of kingdoms.

00:00:31.899 --> 00:00:38.439
 Which king is stronger, Nebuchadnezzar and the kingdom of Babylon or Yahweh and the kingdom

00:00:38.439 --> 00:00:39.640
 of Israel?

00:00:40.879 --> 00:00:45.259
 Today we're essentially going to watch round three of that fight unfold.

00:00:46.359 --> 00:00:51.539
 And in that setting, as these kingdoms have clashed, we've seen God's people, including

00:00:51.539 --> 00:00:55.320
 Daniel and his friends taken into exile in Babylon.

00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:02.719
 And they face what it looks like to live in a culture with values and priorities very different

00:01:02.719 --> 00:01:03.780
 from theirs.

00:01:04.719 --> 00:01:11.180
 We've been asking together how we engage in a pluralistic culture with a singular devotion

00:01:11.180 --> 00:01:12.599
 to God.

00:01:13.659 --> 00:01:18.000
 And we've learned from Daniel already that we need a proper perspective of what's valuable

00:01:18.000 --> 00:01:21.079
 as Daniel declines the king's food plan.

00:01:21.719 --> 00:01:27.780
 We learn God is so valuable that knowing him is greater than having all the treasures of

00:01:27.780 --> 00:01:28.340
 the world.

00:01:29.640 --> 00:01:35.180
 To live faithfully in a culture like ours also requires a proper perspective on strength.

00:01:36.219 --> 00:01:42.099
 Through Nebuchadnezzar's dream and Daniel's interpretation of it, we saw that God's unlimited strength is

00:01:42.099 --> 00:01:45.340
 especially for weak people like me.

00:01:45.340 --> 00:01:53.460
 Today in chapter 3, we reach that classic Mother's Day passage of the fiery furnace.

00:01:54.420 --> 00:02:05.680
 And timed so beautifully today, we'll encounter a giant statue, an enraged king, all sorts of

00:02:05.680 --> 00:02:08.400
 frightening things like fiery furnaces.

00:02:08.659 --> 00:02:11.759
 And it can all seem very distant from us, can't it?

00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:16.399
 Any of you concerned about being thrown in a fiery furnace this week?

00:02:17.679 --> 00:02:18.419
 No, nobody?

00:02:18.679 --> 00:02:18.919
 Okay.

00:02:19.799 --> 00:02:26.199
 How about an enraged monarch is going to order you to bow down to a golden idol?

00:02:27.399 --> 00:02:28.959
 No, not that either?

00:02:30.239 --> 00:02:31.579
 Although I actually come to...

00:02:31.579 --> 00:02:32.759
 No, no, definitely not.

00:02:32.759 --> 00:02:40.979
 Anyway, the seemingly distant challenge that doesn't seem to have anything to do with our

00:02:40.979 --> 00:02:48.099
 lives that would be far away is actually a challenge that we face moment by moment, daily.

00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:55.500
 It's the story, the question of what is worthy of our worship.

00:02:55.500 --> 00:03:01.159
 We'll see that's actually at the heart of the entire chapter here, and it's at the heart

00:03:01.159 --> 00:03:06.120
 of our lives all the time because we're always worshiping something, aren't we?

00:03:07.139 --> 00:03:10.500
 But what or whom are we worshiping?

00:03:10.680 --> 00:03:17.920
 Shaping our lives around, valuing above other things, seeking fulfillment from.

00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:21.060
 That's the question this morning.

00:03:21.560 --> 00:03:22.620
 What are we worshiping?

00:03:22.620 --> 00:03:28.480
 We'll read through the story as we go, but first let's pray and ask for God's help as

00:03:28.480 --> 00:03:29.659
 we open His Word.

00:03:29.780 --> 00:03:30.360
 Pray with me.

00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:35.500
 God, Your Word is true.

00:03:36.840 --> 00:03:43.819
 And it is true not just because this story really happened a long time ago, although we

00:03:43.819 --> 00:03:51.659
 have lots of evidence for that, but it's true because it teaches us about You and about

00:03:51.659 --> 00:03:56.319
 You things that are still true of You today.

00:03:57.139 --> 00:04:00.099
 So God, we need to hear from You.

00:04:00.300 --> 00:04:10.699
 We long to know more of You, to know You better, to follow You more faithfully, to extend Your

00:04:10.699 --> 00:04:12.060
 glory more fully.

00:04:12.620 --> 00:04:16.720
 And so would You teach us by Your Spirit this morning as we look to Your Word.

00:04:16.720 --> 00:04:18.640
 We ask it in Jesus' name.

00:04:19.680 --> 00:04:20.020
 Amen.

00:04:21.700 --> 00:04:27.460
 We need to remember how chapter 2 ends before we jump into our story for this morning.

00:04:28.140 --> 00:04:34.220
 In chapter 2, Daniel has just interpreted King Nebuchadnezzar's dream for him, a dream where

00:04:34.220 --> 00:04:42.180
 the king and his kingdom are the head of gold on a statue that will over time be replaced by

00:04:42.180 --> 00:04:44.920
 other kingdoms, silver and bronze, etc.

00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:52.220
 And all of those kingdoms will eventually be destroyed by a very small stone.

00:04:53.459 --> 00:04:58.579
 And the king, upon hearing this, has thanked Daniel and praised the God of Daniel for this

00:04:58.579 --> 00:04:59.259
 dream.

00:05:00.180 --> 00:05:05.040
 And then chapter 3 opens, strangely, with the king making an image.

00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:11.080
 The same word, their image for the statue in chapter 2, it's used several times.

00:05:11.520 --> 00:05:16.080
 Nebuchadnezzar decides to make a statue, maybe like the one in his dream.

00:05:16.640 --> 00:05:19.100
 It's an image of gold this time.

00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:23.980
 And he sets the image up and requires everyone to worship it.

00:05:24.939 --> 00:05:29.100
 It's going to be idolatry on display on a massive scale.

00:05:29.100 --> 00:05:34.300
 A huge idol, 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide.

00:05:34.420 --> 00:05:38.900
 You could picture it to give you a little bit of an idea, just slightly wider than the

00:05:38.900 --> 00:05:44.360
 center aisle here, and then an idol that goes up and smashes through the roof of the ceiling.

00:05:44.520 --> 00:05:46.140
 Pretty huge, right?

00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:51.300
 90 feet tall and 9 feet wide, all of gold.

00:05:52.400 --> 00:05:56.800
 But what the passage tells us is most important about the idol, and it tells it in an almost

00:05:56.800 --> 00:06:02.480
 humorous or sarcastic way in the number of times it's repeated, is that Nebuchadnezzar

00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:03.300
 set it up.

00:06:04.160 --> 00:06:07.360
 The chapter opens with him making it, and then he sets it up.

00:06:07.400 --> 00:06:10.740
 Look at the first seven verses of Daniel 3.

00:06:11.139 --> 00:06:16.780
 King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, and then he sent to gather all of these people

00:06:16.780 --> 00:06:21.879
 together, all these officials to come to the dedication of the image that King Nebuchadnezzar

00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:22.580
 had set up.

00:06:22.579 --> 00:06:29.719
 They stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and he had a herald proclaim aloud,

00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:33.899
 you're commanded, O peoples, nations, and languages, that when you hear the sound of

00:06:33.899 --> 00:06:38.740
 the horn, pipe, lyre, trigon, harp, bagpipe, and every kind of music, you're to fall down

00:06:38.740 --> 00:06:42.339
 and worship the golden image that King Nebuchadnezzar has set up.

00:06:42.779 --> 00:06:47.899
 And whoever does not fall down and worship shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery

00:06:47.899 --> 00:06:48.379
 furnace.

00:06:48.379 --> 00:06:54.980
 This is Nebuchadnezzar's great idea, and in seven verses, six times, we're told that this

00:06:54.980 --> 00:06:57.519
 is an image King Nebuchadnezzar had set up.

00:06:57.819 --> 00:07:00.040
 It's all about him, isn't it?

00:07:01.600 --> 00:07:06.060
 You know, he's had this dream, and maybe he's thinking, that statue with the golden head,

00:07:06.180 --> 00:07:07.379
 that was nice.

00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:11.399
 I liked being told I was the golden head, but wouldn't it be even better if you had one

00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:12.719
 that was all gold?

00:07:12.719 --> 00:07:15.599
 That was all about me and my kingdom?

00:07:16.079 --> 00:07:18.399
 Ninety feet, all gold?

00:07:19.959 --> 00:07:26.379
 He's grasping for power and fame, isn't he, having been told that his kingdom will eventually

00:07:26.379 --> 00:07:27.500
 be taken away.

00:07:28.060 --> 00:07:32.399
 Nebuchadnezzar doesn't actually think this idol is the great thing, does he?

00:07:32.719 --> 00:07:34.479
 What does Nebuchadnezzar think is great?

00:07:34.480 --> 00:07:39.439
 He wants everyone to know that he is great.

00:07:40.540 --> 00:07:43.140
 That's one way to think about what an idol is.

00:07:43.819 --> 00:07:50.580
 It's something we worship to get what we really want, to build the kingdom of self.

00:07:50.939 --> 00:07:53.140
 In other words, it's false worship.

00:07:53.720 --> 00:08:00.879
 Not actually treasuring the thing itself that we're bowing down to, but what it can get us.

00:08:00.879 --> 00:08:06.259
 The people of Israel, for example, many years before, wanted to fit in.

00:08:06.360 --> 00:08:09.180
 They wanted a God like the nations around them.

00:08:09.719 --> 00:08:14.100
 Wanted one they could see and touch and carry before them in battle.

00:08:14.579 --> 00:08:20.360
 So in Exodus chapter 32, they build an idol in the form of a golden calf.

00:08:21.939 --> 00:08:30.800
 Nebuchadnezzar wanted power, control over people, fame among the nations, and he uses the idol

00:08:30.800 --> 00:08:34.080
 to promote his kingdom of self, right?

00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:41.480
 Now at this point, we need to recalibrate our thinking a little bit because in the story

00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:46.680
 of the fiery furnace, at least the one I've heard since I was in three-year-old Sunday

00:08:46.680 --> 00:08:48.860
 school, who am I in that story?

00:08:49.340 --> 00:08:53.919
 Which character do I relate to when I hear the story of the fiery furnace?

00:08:55.799 --> 00:08:57.639
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, right?

00:08:57.700 --> 00:08:58.519
 I am the hero.

00:08:58.519 --> 00:09:02.939
 I am going to stand strong and trust God and be faithful.

00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:05.139
 And we'll get there.

00:09:05.860 --> 00:09:11.439
 But what I've realized this week is how prone I am to being like Nebuchadnezzar.

00:09:12.639 --> 00:09:17.159
 Worshipping idols to get things that I really want.

00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:20.799
 You can think about it in terms of money being an idol.

00:09:20.919 --> 00:09:24.019
 There's a classic one we talk about, having an idol of money.

00:09:24.019 --> 00:09:29.139
 And when we talk about that, what we don't mean, I don't think many of you go home and

00:09:29.139 --> 00:09:36.699
 what you do is you collect $1 bills and $100 bills and build a tower of them with quarters

00:09:36.699 --> 00:09:43.179
 at the base of it and bow down and say, oh, this green paper is just the best stuff I've

00:09:43.179 --> 00:09:43.740
 ever seen.

00:09:43.819 --> 00:09:45.419
 I just worship it.

00:09:45.419 --> 00:09:48.299
 That's not what it means to have an idol of money, is it?

00:09:49.219 --> 00:09:49.659
 No.

00:09:49.759 --> 00:09:54.419
 What we're actually worshiping is what the money can get us.

00:09:55.099 --> 00:09:58.919
 The money is something you use to get what you want.

00:09:59.620 --> 00:10:00.879
 Security, perhaps.

00:10:02.199 --> 00:10:03.360
 Prestige, perhaps.

00:10:04.360 --> 00:10:05.779
 Comfort, perhaps.

00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:08.419
 Barbie dolls, perhaps.

00:10:09.179 --> 00:10:10.259
 Legos, perhaps.

00:10:10.259 --> 00:10:18.059
 Whatever builds your ideal kingdom of self, maybe money can get that for me.

00:10:19.600 --> 00:10:24.740
 Remember when we talked about building our own kingdoms of self and the way we like them

00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:25.240
 to be?

00:10:25.740 --> 00:10:33.220
 Mine included obedient children, adoring congregants, peaceful relationships in all of life, all

00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:35.259
 part of the kingdom of will, remember?

00:10:35.259 --> 00:10:42.080
 Remember, I'll worship anything some days to get that kingdom to be just that way, to make

00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:43.039
 those things happen.

00:10:43.939 --> 00:10:48.779
 I'll make an idol of work, for example, to get the praise of man.

00:10:49.159 --> 00:10:55.600
 I'll shape my life around work, around time in the office, prioritizing that to gain what

00:10:55.600 --> 00:11:01.360
 I think I really need to be fulfilled, and in that moment, it's the praise of man.

00:11:02.299 --> 00:11:04.279
 That's idolatry, isn't it?

00:11:05.259 --> 00:11:07.659
 Building the kingdom of self.

00:11:07.819 --> 00:11:11.539
 It looks just like Nebuchadnezzar, just without the gold statue.

00:11:13.220 --> 00:11:19.559
 Nebuchadnezzar is demanding that everyone bow to his kingdom and make him feel powerful

00:11:19.559 --> 00:11:21.059
 and important.

00:11:22.220 --> 00:11:24.419
 Idolatry on display.

00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:30.580
 But as the story goes, not everyone agrees to bow down to his idol, right?

00:11:30.580 --> 00:11:36.700
 In fact, some of his most important government officials refuse to bow down.

00:11:37.800 --> 00:11:39.820
 They don't follow the king's command.

00:11:40.700 --> 00:11:45.900
 And it's reported to the king, in a furious rage, we're told, the king drags the three

00:11:45.900 --> 00:11:46.600
 friends in.

00:11:46.820 --> 00:11:50.240
 He demands to know what's going on, and he gives them one more chance.

00:11:50.500 --> 00:11:52.940
 If you'll bow down now, it'll all be forgiven.

00:11:52.940 --> 00:12:00.160
 Verse 15, but if you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning, fiery furnace.

00:12:00.460 --> 00:12:03.280
 And who is the God who will deliver you out of my hands?

00:12:03.279 --> 00:12:09.679
 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we have

00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:11.879
 no need to answer you in this matter.

00:12:12.919 --> 00:12:18.079
 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace,

00:12:18.259 --> 00:12:20.500
 and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

00:12:21.399 --> 00:12:26.740
 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden

00:12:26.740 --> 00:12:28.919
 image that you have set up.

00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:33.879
 But faith is on display here, isn't it?

00:12:35.279 --> 00:12:42.419
 Here are Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego faced once again with a choice to maintain their distinctive

00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:50.919
 identity and obey God who's told them not to bow down to man-made idols, or to compromise

00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:55.099
 and disobey God by bowing to the king's idol.

00:12:55.100 --> 00:13:00.300
 The choice, of course, is complicated slightly by the whole fiery furnace idea.

00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:05.600
 There are potentially life and death consequences for their choice, right?

00:13:07.320 --> 00:13:14.879
 So what we see played out is not the false worship of idolatry, but rather true worship.

00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:19.800
 That God himself is valuable to these friends.

00:13:19.799 --> 00:13:24.039
 He himself is worthy of their worship, their trust.

00:13:24.179 --> 00:13:28.899
 They're shaping their lives around his ways and the things he has called them to.

00:13:29.579 --> 00:13:34.399
 You see, they want God, not something else that God can give them.

00:13:35.079 --> 00:13:37.359
 Listen again to what they say in verse 17.

00:13:37.939 --> 00:13:42.659
 If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning, fiery furnace,

00:13:43.079 --> 00:13:45.279
 and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.

00:13:45.279 --> 00:13:52.059
 But if not, but it is, on the other hand, possible that he won't deliver us in this way from the fiery furnace.

00:13:52.620 --> 00:13:59.319
 But you need to know that even if he doesn't, we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.

00:14:01.159 --> 00:14:02.100
 Know this.

00:14:03.299 --> 00:14:06.419
 As I said a couple of weeks ago to the younger generation,

00:14:07.100 --> 00:14:13.339
 it's not going to get any easier to make difficult choices to follow God.

00:14:13.340 --> 00:14:15.800
 The heat will continue being turned up.

00:14:16.580 --> 00:14:20.160
 Worshiping God will continue to cost you something.

00:14:20.980 --> 00:14:27.759
 You will be choosing the reproach of Christ over the treasures of Egypt.

00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:30.519
 In the terms of that passage that we read.

00:14:30.519 --> 00:14:43.500
 You will be choosing God and some costly pain or loss over an idol and some reward temporarily.

00:14:44.539 --> 00:14:46.720
 And so if that's the choice you're going to be faced with,

00:14:46.939 --> 00:14:51.579
 God must be of supreme value to you or it's not going to make any sense.

00:14:52.299 --> 00:14:55.199
 It's God and loss over idol and gain.

00:14:55.620 --> 00:14:58.639
 God better count a lot.

00:14:58.639 --> 00:15:03.419
 If you're only worshiping God to get something else you really want,

00:15:04.059 --> 00:15:13.179
 there will be many, many times where the idols appear to get it for you more easily or more certainly than God would.

00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:15.720
 Think about the three friends in this passage.

00:15:16.059 --> 00:15:22.460
 Imagine they loved God only for the safety and security he provided them as his people.

00:15:22.460 --> 00:15:29.940
 They admit themselves it's possible God won't save them physically from the fiery furnace.

00:15:30.720 --> 00:15:32.280
 They don't really know, do they?

00:15:32.759 --> 00:15:37.960
 So the easiest and the most certain way to save their lives if what they want is safety and security

00:15:37.960 --> 00:15:40.340
 is just to bow down to the idol for a second.

00:15:40.720 --> 00:15:42.240
 I mean a pretty small compromise.

00:15:42.620 --> 00:15:46.460
 We'll do it this one time, then we'll go back and hope we don't get caught again.

00:15:46.460 --> 00:15:52.300
 What about their potential impact for God's kingdom?

00:15:52.600 --> 00:15:55.560
 What a noble thing to have as their goal.

00:15:55.780 --> 00:15:57.240
 Look where God's placed them, right?

00:15:57.900 --> 00:16:02.080
 These are guys who have risen to the top in a pagan government.

00:16:02.240 --> 00:16:06.000
 They're positioned to influence this nation for God.

00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:11.500
 And so certainly it seems reasonable that just a little nod of the head here,

00:16:11.600 --> 00:16:12.660
 it's not very much.

00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:14.940
 And they can keep their jobs.

00:16:14.940 --> 00:16:21.280
 They can be used for the kingdom in ways that, hey, if they asked for advice from you or me,

00:16:21.340 --> 00:16:22.460
 we might say, yeah, yeah, yeah.

00:16:22.800 --> 00:16:23.800
 Yeah, you need to keep that.

00:16:23.980 --> 00:16:25.060
 You need to stay in there.

00:16:25.380 --> 00:16:26.240
 Do what it takes.

00:16:27.040 --> 00:16:28.580
 God's placed you there for a reason.

00:16:28.820 --> 00:16:30.440
 Just stay.

00:16:32.100 --> 00:16:38.900
 You see, false worship turns God into an idol that gives us what we really treasure.

00:16:40.440 --> 00:16:43.980
 True worship treasures God himself.

00:16:44.940 --> 00:16:47.900
 Here's what these friends are saying.

00:16:48.300 --> 00:16:55.120
 Even if we found out that it would cost us our lives, we will not serve your gods or bow down to your idol.

00:16:55.300 --> 00:16:57.300
 That's what they're saying in these verses.

00:16:57.540 --> 00:16:58.280
 Can you say that?

00:16:58.279 --> 00:17:06.599
 Even if we found out that it would cost us our lives, we will not serve your gods or bow down to your idol.

00:17:06.599 --> 00:17:13.399
 Even if we found out it would cost us our position, our success, our planned kingdom impact,

00:17:13.899 --> 00:17:18.019
 we will not serve your gods or bow down to your idol.

00:17:18.019 --> 00:17:24.779
 We see that the three friends have faith in God, not in the outcome.

00:17:25.359 --> 00:17:29.619
 There will come times for us when the circumstances would tempt us otherwise.

00:17:30.619 --> 00:17:37.859
 And if we are to worship God rather than our idols, we must have faith in God, not in the outcome.

00:17:37.859 --> 00:17:40.059
 They don't know whether they will burn or not.

00:17:41.419 --> 00:17:46.299
 But they know they can trust God and that He is worth it.

00:17:47.579 --> 00:17:54.000
 This is what really breaks my heart about the heresy of what is often called the prosperity gospel.

00:17:54.879 --> 00:17:58.879
 The health and wealth preaching that's so popular in our day.

00:17:58.880 --> 00:18:03.120
 It's not merely that it's unbiblical, which it is.

00:18:03.780 --> 00:18:09.280
 It's not merely that it ignores the reality of suffering, which it does.

00:18:10.380 --> 00:18:17.860
 But the thing that really is most grievous about it is that it uses God as an idol.

00:18:18.780 --> 00:18:23.020
 God is to be trusted to get something else that you really want.

00:18:23.019 --> 00:18:28.900
 And if you're not getting the home, the healing, the help you need,

00:18:29.200 --> 00:18:31.779
 then you're not trusting Him enough.

00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:34.700
 That's what He's there for.

00:18:34.779 --> 00:18:38.220
 The message is not that God Himself is enough to fulfill you,

00:18:39.039 --> 00:18:43.559
 but that God will get you enough other things that will fulfill you,

00:18:43.740 --> 00:18:45.319
 and then you'll be happy.

00:18:45.319 --> 00:18:52.319
 To be honest, though, what angers me most about this heretical teaching

00:18:52.319 --> 00:18:54.879
 is that it's in my heart, too.

00:18:55.700 --> 00:18:58.679
 We don't have it on the books here at our church,

00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.960
 but we have it in our hearts, don't we?

00:19:02.599 --> 00:19:07.319
 The ability to use God to get what we really want.

00:19:07.319 --> 00:19:12.079
 I hate hearing someone teach the prosperity gospel

00:19:12.079 --> 00:19:16.099
 because it exposes that I, too, use God for my kingdom.

00:19:16.839 --> 00:19:18.819
 Pastors are especially bad at this.

00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:22.819
 We're positioned to be able to do this in my kingdom.

00:19:23.000 --> 00:19:27.460
 People respect and admire me as a model of spirituality.

00:19:28.919 --> 00:19:34.980
 And so it's a temptation for a pastor to get on Facebook, let's say,

00:19:34.980 --> 00:19:39.160
 or Twitter, and just throw something out there that can be shared,

00:19:39.240 --> 00:19:44.860
 not so much to encourage or shepherd God's people to share what God is teaching me,

00:19:45.360 --> 00:19:49.759
 but to see how many people are going to like this comment that I make

00:19:49.759 --> 00:19:52.900
 and say wonderful things about it and think,

00:19:53.019 --> 00:19:55.220
 oh, what a spiritual guy.

00:19:55.720 --> 00:19:59.259
 What a godly thing he said on Facebook.

00:19:59.259 --> 00:20:05.940
 And so to feel validated by how many people respond positively

00:20:05.940 --> 00:20:07.680
 and find me so spiritual.

00:20:09.339 --> 00:20:11.299
 I'm right back with Nebuchadnezzar,

00:20:11.799 --> 00:20:15.660
 using God as an idol to get what I really value.

00:20:16.400 --> 00:20:20.480
 Not him, but the respect and admiration of men.

00:20:22.740 --> 00:20:24.619
 Many of us do this as parents.

00:20:24.619 --> 00:20:31.479
 We use God to get the moral or obedient children that we so desperately want.

00:20:32.699 --> 00:20:36.519
 Some of you are actually here for that very reason at this church.

00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:40.319
 I know not because I'm so wise, but because you told me so yourself.

00:20:40.759 --> 00:20:43.839
 That you came, that you wanted to go to church,

00:20:43.919 --> 00:20:47.419
 to have a place where your kids could be raised in an environment

00:20:47.419 --> 00:20:49.839
 that teaches the values you grew up with,

00:20:50.379 --> 00:20:52.979
 so that they would have that experience too.

00:20:52.980 --> 00:20:55.720
 What you really wanted was not God himself,

00:20:56.140 --> 00:20:59.500
 but something else that he could give you.

00:21:00.860 --> 00:21:03.200
 Listen, if that's you, I'm not trying to run you off.

00:21:04.059 --> 00:21:08.779
 But I'd invite you to consider that God might have something for you too,

00:21:08.880 --> 00:21:10.200
 not just for your kids.

00:21:10.880 --> 00:21:12.980
 God himself is what's valuable.

00:21:13.720 --> 00:21:15.599
 He is the one worthy of our worship,

00:21:15.880 --> 00:21:20.759
 which means that I need him and my kids need him.

00:21:20.759 --> 00:21:21.360
 Right?

00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:27.140
 What are we bowing down to?

00:21:28.360 --> 00:21:34.240
 Is God our God or is God an idol we would use for what's really valuable to us?

00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:43.880
 It may seem easy to talk about faith being in God and not in the outcome in a passage like this,

00:21:44.299 --> 00:21:45.380
 where what happens?

00:21:45.460 --> 00:21:46.599
 I mean, you know how the story ends.

00:21:46.640 --> 00:21:48.140
 We already talked about it with the kids.

00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:49.559
 God delivers, doesn't he?

00:21:50.120 --> 00:21:51.140
 He shows up.

00:21:51.519 --> 00:21:52.339
 They're saved.

00:21:52.539 --> 00:21:53.920
 So, of course, that was nice.

00:21:54.019 --> 00:21:55.120
 They just trusted God.

00:21:55.180 --> 00:21:57.559
 It didn't matter what happened to them because he saved them anyway.

00:21:57.559 --> 00:21:59.279
 No big deal, right?

00:22:01.339 --> 00:22:05.139
 What about all those times he seemingly doesn't deliver?

00:22:06.379 --> 00:22:10.919
 There's sometimes much longer conversations that I'd love to have.

00:22:11.039 --> 00:22:19.960
 When you're facing death, the loss of a loved one, the brokenness of a relationship,

00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:24.600
 any suffering that seems interminable or final.

00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:29.380
 Longer conversations, certainly.

00:22:29.600 --> 00:22:31.079
 But for now, know this.

00:22:31.640 --> 00:22:33.440
 Here's where this passage helps us here.

00:22:33.519 --> 00:22:38.200
 This is why God continues to show himself in this book and throughout his word

00:22:38.200 --> 00:22:44.240
 as the most powerful, the most wise, the most trustworthy one.

00:22:44.240 --> 00:22:50.620
 We need him to be that because sometimes it takes an eternal or sovereign perspective

00:22:50.620 --> 00:22:57.920
 that we don't have to understand how some awful suffering could be working for the good of God's people.

00:22:58.039 --> 00:22:59.480
 Sometimes it takes that, doesn't it?

00:22:59.920 --> 00:23:02.620
 Sometimes we don't have a perspective to say,

00:23:02.720 --> 00:23:05.220
 oh, let me explain to you how this is a good thing.

00:23:05.819 --> 00:23:06.019
 No.

00:23:06.019 --> 00:23:06.079
 No.

00:23:07.639 --> 00:23:13.400
 Often, God's sovereign, eternal perspective is required.

00:23:13.579 --> 00:23:16.619
 Sometimes it requires faith in things we can't see

00:23:16.619 --> 00:23:22.160
 to trust that God didn't abandon his people because from all we can tell, he did.

00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:27.759
 But these three friends point us, even before they are delivered,

00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:31.759
 before they know God's going to show up in the furnace and protect them,

00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:34.500
 they point us to the fact that God can be trusted

00:23:34.500 --> 00:23:37.619
 even if he doesn't deliver in the way we expect.

00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:43.640
 We see that in many other places with God's people who endure deep pain,

00:23:43.839 --> 00:23:45.099
 seemingly without rescue.

00:23:46.099 --> 00:23:48.000
 Fiery trials, Peter calls them.

00:23:48.380 --> 00:23:51.019
 Many Old Testament believers go through them.

00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:52.980
 Paul endures some of them.

00:23:53.099 --> 00:23:55.119
 Jesus endures some.

00:23:55.119 --> 00:24:02.339
 But in all of them, what God promises is to be present with us.

00:24:02.799 --> 00:24:08.519
 And that's the real hope of the end of this passage where we see God on display.

00:24:08.519 --> 00:24:17.000
 The king, Nebuchadnezzar, enraged even more by the response of these three friends,

00:24:17.119 --> 00:24:19.059
 orders the furnace heated much hotter.

00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:20.920
 We'll pick it up at verse 22.

00:24:21.639 --> 00:24:25.279
 Because the king's order was urgent and the furnace overheated,

00:24:25.579 --> 00:24:30.400
 the flame of the fire killed those men who took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

00:24:30.400 --> 00:24:37.220
 And these three men, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, fell bound into the burning, fiery furnace.

00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:41.280
 Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished and rose up in haste.

00:24:41.500 --> 00:24:42.680
 He declared to his counselors,

00:24:43.040 --> 00:24:46.640
 Did we not cast three men bound into the fire?

00:24:47.560 --> 00:24:48.820
 They answered and said to the king,

00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:49.540
 True, O king.

00:24:50.100 --> 00:24:51.120
 He answered and said,

00:24:51.200 --> 00:24:55.360
 But I see four men unbound walking in the midst of the fire,

00:24:55.420 --> 00:24:56.340
 and they're not hurt.

00:24:56.920 --> 00:24:59.720
 And the appearance of the fourth is like a son of the gods.

00:25:00.680 --> 00:25:01.259
 Nebuchadnezzar says,

00:25:01.319 --> 00:25:02.160
 What's going on?

00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:04.860
 This is not what was supposed to happen.

00:25:05.600 --> 00:25:08.759
 The three friends come out of the furnace completely unharmed.

00:25:09.059 --> 00:25:13.900
 The king praises Yahweh and orders protection for God's people.

00:25:14.420 --> 00:25:18.779
 God in dramatic fashion wins round three of the clash of the kingdoms.

00:25:18.779 --> 00:25:19.860
 He's on a roll now.

00:25:21.240 --> 00:25:23.240
 The question often asked is,

00:25:23.500 --> 00:25:27.039
 Who's that fourth person that the king sees in the furnace, right?

00:25:27.059 --> 00:25:27.779
 We all want to know.

00:25:28.519 --> 00:25:29.180
 Who is it?

00:25:29.720 --> 00:25:34.360
 It's possible that it's one of the few Old Testament Christophanies,

00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:38.500
 a pre-incarnation appearance of Jesus himself.

00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:40.019
 That could be.

00:25:40.779 --> 00:25:43.180
 The text doesn't really make that clear.

00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:46.900
 What is clear is that the person showing up in the furnace

00:25:46.900 --> 00:25:52.740
 represents God himself showing up in the furnace with his people.

00:25:52.740 --> 00:25:55.720
 That's what we talked about with the kids earlier.

00:25:55.799 --> 00:25:57.279
 They've already filled in the blanks.

00:25:57.839 --> 00:26:00.000
 God is always with us.

00:26:00.880 --> 00:26:02.740
 Even in the hard times.

00:26:02.799 --> 00:26:04.279
 That's what's happening here.

00:26:04.420 --> 00:26:05.720
 Because these are hard times.

00:26:06.559 --> 00:26:09.140
 Facing the wrath of ungodly leaders.

00:26:09.700 --> 00:26:11.660
 Facing severe physical pain.

00:26:12.019 --> 00:26:15.160
 Facing severe hopelessness and despair.

00:26:15.160 --> 00:26:19.279
 God promises to be present.

00:26:20.060 --> 00:26:22.019
 In fact, that is the promise.

00:26:22.140 --> 00:26:23.779
 Not that the suffering is going to go away.

00:26:24.540 --> 00:26:25.940
 Not that it will never happen.

00:26:26.060 --> 00:26:27.840
 But that he will be with you.

00:26:28.019 --> 00:26:30.779
 Not his mere physical presence with you.

00:26:30.779 --> 00:26:34.920
 But biblically, God's being with you means he's working for you

00:26:34.920 --> 00:26:38.519
 and for your good in the midst of the suffering.

00:26:39.819 --> 00:26:44.339
 Notice God does not deliver by keeping the friends out of the furnace, does he?

00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.539
 He delivers by being with them in the furnace.

00:26:51.000 --> 00:26:55.460
 If you're seeking to honor God, life in this world will be difficult.

00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:57.899
 He promises that too.

00:26:57.900 --> 00:27:00.880
 But he will not leave you alone.

00:27:01.120 --> 00:27:05.040
 And he will not leave you ultimately unprotected.

00:27:06.400 --> 00:27:11.259
 I remembered this week a song I used to hear on the radio back in high school.

00:27:11.740 --> 00:27:14.160
 It's not necessarily the best song I've ever heard.

00:27:14.519 --> 00:27:17.740
 But this part of it is true, I think, and helpful.

00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:20.259
 And this is written by Benton Stokes and Tony Wood.

00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:23.560
 Sometimes he calms the storm.

00:27:24.360 --> 00:27:26.480
 With a whispered peace be still.

00:27:26.480 --> 00:27:28.200
 He can settle any sea.

00:27:28.960 --> 00:27:30.660
 But it doesn't mean he will.

00:27:31.839 --> 00:27:36.160
 Sometimes he holds us close and lets the wind and waves go wild.

00:27:37.019 --> 00:27:38.880
 Sometimes he calms the storm.

00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:42.019
 And other times he calms his child.

00:27:44.200 --> 00:27:46.500
 He will not leave you alone.

00:27:47.220 --> 00:27:48.940
 The fire may well come.

00:27:49.039 --> 00:27:50.900
 The storm may well rage.

00:27:50.900 --> 00:27:52.600
 But you won't be in it alone.

00:27:52.600 --> 00:27:57.040
 Even when from everything you can tell you actually are.

00:27:57.440 --> 00:28:00.840
 He will not leave you ultimately unprotected.

00:28:02.040 --> 00:28:05.160
 Oh, things may happen that feel to you that you've been abandoned.

00:28:05.680 --> 00:28:09.019
 And that nothing could ever rescue you from what has happened.

00:28:09.019 --> 00:28:14.539
 God is there and is protecting his children.

00:28:14.539 --> 00:28:17.259
 And ultimately we'll see that that happens.

00:28:17.660 --> 00:28:19.599
 He's strong enough to promise that.

00:28:19.660 --> 00:28:21.000
 Remember we talked about that.

00:28:21.539 --> 00:28:23.200
 He can guarantee that.

00:28:23.639 --> 00:28:26.279
 How would God show us that in this passage this morning?

00:28:26.279 --> 00:28:32.139
 He doesn't want you walking away thinking this is about heroic Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

00:28:33.359 --> 00:28:34.940
 No, what's this passage about?

00:28:35.420 --> 00:28:39.500
 It's about a faithful God who is greater than Nebuchadnezzar.

00:28:39.619 --> 00:28:42.359
 Who alone is worthy of our worship.

00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:46.960
 He protects his servants while Nebuchadnezzars die.

00:28:46.960 --> 00:28:51.819
 He earns the loyalty of his people rather than demanding it.

00:28:52.400 --> 00:28:57.980
 He delivers from the hottest rage and the severest threats of the most powerful kings.

00:28:58.819 --> 00:29:00.680
 Worship and trust him.

00:29:01.140 --> 00:29:03.259
 He's the only one worthy of it.

00:29:03.500 --> 00:29:04.380
 He shows up.

00:29:04.880 --> 00:29:05.660
 He delivers.

00:29:06.200 --> 00:29:11.799
 He gives and only asks you to trust him to do that for you.

00:29:11.799 --> 00:29:19.940
 When has your idol ever been there working for you and ultimately protecting you?

00:29:21.639 --> 00:29:22.839
 Your job.

00:29:24.240 --> 00:29:25.559
 Your mistress.

00:29:25.940 --> 00:29:26.799
 Your addiction.

00:29:28.559 --> 00:29:34.519
 Whatever the idol is always demands more from you rather than giving more to you.

00:29:35.259 --> 00:29:41.539
 Those idols never give lasting fulfillment so they continue demanding to be fed.

00:29:41.799 --> 00:29:49.200
 The only one worthy of our worship is the one who is actively present in our pain.

00:29:49.440 --> 00:29:52.500
 And who ultimately protects his people.

00:29:52.599 --> 00:29:54.559
 That's what this is about.

00:29:55.599 --> 00:29:58.879
 There's a war in all of our hearts for our worship.

00:29:59.539 --> 00:30:01.319
 It's going on today.

00:30:01.859 --> 00:30:03.059
 Who will we worship?

00:30:03.200 --> 00:30:06.419
 The battle will rage tomorrow in small decisions?

00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:09.059
 In big decisions?

00:30:09.059 --> 00:30:17.419
 Will we bow down to treasure and shape our lives around something man-made that can never truly deliver?

00:30:17.799 --> 00:30:25.679
 Or will we bow down to treasure and shape our lives around the God who is always able to deliver

00:30:25.679 --> 00:30:30.559
 and is always with us even and especially in the hard times?

00:30:30.559 --> 00:30:38.159
 His word this morning would remind your heart that he is the only one worthy of your worship.

00:30:39.899 --> 00:30:44.000
 After all, of all the gods your heart loves to worship,

00:30:44.899 --> 00:30:48.980
 he is the one who has entered in to your suffering.

00:30:49.259 --> 00:30:51.179
 The only one who has done that.

00:30:51.559 --> 00:30:54.519
 Jesus has experienced your pain.

00:30:54.519 --> 00:30:57.519
 He experienced the brokenness of this world.

00:30:57.980 --> 00:31:00.440
 The pressures of hard decisions.

00:31:00.879 --> 00:31:02.720
 The attacks of men.

00:31:03.900 --> 00:31:08.799
 And ultimately, of course, the pain and rejection of the cross.

00:31:10.019 --> 00:31:12.960
 Os Guinness tells a story from World War II.

00:31:13.460 --> 00:31:20.059
 A time in history when dictators were demanding that masses bow down to them, right?

00:31:20.059 --> 00:31:26.500
 He tells the story of a Russian woman who was in church one Sunday morning

00:31:26.500 --> 00:31:31.559
 and KGB agents had been sent to root out Christ worship.

00:31:32.119 --> 00:31:40.539
 And they found this particular older woman kneeling and kissing the feet of a wooden carving of Jesus on the cross.

00:31:40.539 --> 00:31:45.960
 And a KGB agent said to her babushka, grandmother,

00:31:47.500 --> 00:31:57.299
 Are you willing also to kiss the feet of the beloved general secretary of our great communist party?

00:31:58.980 --> 00:32:00.099
 She said, of course.

00:32:01.279 --> 00:32:03.480
 As long as you crucify him first.

00:32:04.899 --> 00:32:05.659
 It was witty.

00:32:05.879 --> 00:32:06.460
 I thought it was good.

00:32:07.460 --> 00:32:10.000
 Witty, but also reminds us of what?

00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:15.680
 The only one worthy of my worship is the one who's felt the pain that I feel.

00:32:15.920 --> 00:32:18.799
 Who's entered the suffering that I experience.

00:32:19.099 --> 00:32:21.599
 Who is with me in it.

00:32:21.900 --> 00:32:24.660
 I'll worship him, is what she was saying.

00:32:24.740 --> 00:32:26.259
 She just said it funnier than I do.

00:32:28.380 --> 00:32:30.279
 He's the one who has entered into your suffering.

00:32:30.420 --> 00:32:33.680
 He sets this table before you this morning.

00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:36.059
 To remind you that whatever you're suffering,

00:32:36.059 --> 00:32:39.759
 whatever idol is tempting you to bow down to it,

00:32:39.759 --> 00:32:40.839
 He is with you.

00:32:41.079 --> 00:32:42.480
 He is for you.

00:32:42.740 --> 00:32:44.960
 He is worthy of your worship.

00:32:45.440 --> 00:32:50.480
 Remember this whole meal for Him to share with you was His idea.

00:32:50.480 --> 00:32:52.980
 Paul wrote,

00:32:52.980 --> 00:32:57.200
 That I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you.

00:32:57.860 --> 00:33:00.599
 That Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread.

00:33:00.940 --> 00:33:03.299
 And when He'd given thanks, He broke it and said,

00:33:03.380 --> 00:33:05.539
 This is my body which is for you.

00:33:06.240 --> 00:33:08.200
 Do this in remembrance of me.

00:33:09.380 --> 00:33:12.180
 In the same way also He took the cup after supper saying,

00:33:12.500 --> 00:33:14.440
 This cup is the new covenant in my blood.

00:33:14.519 --> 00:33:17.420
 Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me.

00:33:17.420 --> 00:33:20.360
 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,

00:33:20.600 --> 00:33:24.120
 You proclaim the Lord's death until He comes.

00:33:25.600 --> 00:33:27.420
 This table is the Lord's table.

00:33:27.539 --> 00:33:30.840
 Not the table of Southwood or the Presbyterian church.

00:33:31.640 --> 00:33:36.720
 And so God sets it before us and invites all who truly trust Him,

00:33:36.820 --> 00:33:39.860
 Who worship Him and know their only hope is in Jesus,

00:33:40.539 --> 00:33:42.539
 To come and feast with Him.

00:33:42.539 --> 00:33:43.799
 He is with you.

00:33:45.220 --> 00:33:48.680
 We have with us this morning several of our young people

00:33:48.680 --> 00:33:50.180
 Who have grown up in this church,

00:33:50.399 --> 00:33:52.460
 Watching us celebrate this together.

00:33:52.899 --> 00:33:57.059
 Learning what it means to see the body and blood of Jesus.

00:33:57.200 --> 00:33:58.519
 To know that He's our only hope.

00:33:58.720 --> 00:34:00.180
 Who have recently joined the church.

00:34:00.279 --> 00:34:01.740
 And for the first time this morning,

00:34:01.960 --> 00:34:04.879
 Will not watch as we celebrate communion,

00:34:05.059 --> 00:34:07.659
 But will actually partake and celebrate with us.

00:34:07.940 --> 00:34:10.800
 They've professed their faith in Christ and said,

00:34:10.800 --> 00:34:13.060
 I'm a sinner in need of grace,

00:34:13.460 --> 00:34:17.400
 Only hoping in the blood of Christ given for me.

00:34:17.519 --> 00:34:20.100
 If that's your hope, you come with them too.

00:34:20.660 --> 00:34:22.920
 If you've professed your faith and trust in Him,

00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:26.140
 We want to rejoice with you that He is with us.

00:34:26.920 --> 00:34:28.960
 Let's pray and then we'll partake together.

00:34:30.460 --> 00:34:33.960
 Father, we ask that you would set these very common,

00:34:34.160 --> 00:34:35.660
 Ordinary elements aside

00:34:35.660 --> 00:34:39.400
 To holy and sacred purpose this morning.

00:34:39.400 --> 00:34:42.180
 That they would strengthen in us our faith.

00:34:42.340 --> 00:34:45.800
 That we would taste that you're with us.

00:34:46.440 --> 00:34:47.820
 We have heard it.

00:34:48.039 --> 00:34:49.320
 We have sung it.

00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:52.880
 Would we experience that you're a God

00:34:52.880 --> 00:34:55.300
 Who enters in and meets with us.

00:34:55.559 --> 00:34:57.340
 And that you're one we can trust.

00:34:58.500 --> 00:35:00.519
 Do that in each of our hearts we pray

00:35:00.519 --> 00:35:02.980
 As we celebrate this sacrament together.

00:35:03.119 --> 00:35:03.940
 In Jesus name.

00:35:03.940 --> 00:35:05.220
 Amen.

00:35:09.400 --> 00:35:12.760
 For more information visit us online at www.southwood.org

00:35:13.079 --> 00:35:17.240
 For more information visit us online at www.southwood.org

00:35:17.340 --> 00:35:21.079
 For more information visit us online at www.southwood.org